


Blame It On the Blueberries

by MelodramaticCoffeeAddict



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Franky is an irresponsible dad, Grandpa Brook is crazy, Modern AU, Robin and Franky are foster parents, Robin is best Mom, Some angst, These boys give Robin all the headaches, but he's still great, but they all love each other, probably some ooc moments, their kids have some issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 22:08:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16585139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodramaticCoffeeAddict/pseuds/MelodramaticCoffeeAddict
Summary: Robin loves her family, she really does. But sometimes, she wishes her foster sons would at least try to get along. Anything is better than a fist fight in a public space.





	Blame It On the Blueberries

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little AU in which Robin and Franky are foster parents for a bunch of kids that have faced traumatic experiences. This one focuses on Zoro and Sanji, both whom remind each other of a tormentor from their childhood. Depending on how my inspiration goes, this might spread out a little bit. Hope you all enjoy!

Robin should have known leaving Franky with the boys was a bad idea. Though, in her defense, she expected Zoro and Sanji to pick up some of the slack. At sixteen, the two boys should be more than capable if wrangling in the others. Over the six months he's lived with them, Zoro has proven to be rather good at keeping Luffy from getting into too much trouble. And he's become rather protective of Chopper. So, Robin assumed Zoro would keep an eye on those two. And, as long as Luffy is under control, Usopp generally is too. 

So, all in all, Robin had a good plan. She just glossed over one key detail. Sanji and Zoro can’t get along for more than twenty minutes at a time. Which process to be the plan's downfall.

“Mom.” Nami's voice pulls her attention away from the vendor in front of them. “That's Chopper.”

Startled, Robin drops the blueberries in her hand and looks up. Sure enough, her eight-year-old is running toward them. Vaguely, Robin hears the vendor call after her, but she can only concentrate on the joy that throws himself into her arms.

“What happened?” she asks, cupping Chopper’s cheeks. “Where’s your father? Why are you by yourself?”

Chopper sniffles and wipes some tears from his face. “Daddy went to look in the tool store. And- and Grandpa Brook is sleeping on the bench. Lu-Luffy and Usopp went to play in the arcade. And I go-got hungry so Sanji and Zoro said they'd take me to get lunch. But-but then Zoro called Sanji a name and Sanji hit him and now, now they're f-fighting.”

“Those idiots,” Nami hisses from Robin's side. M

It takes most of Robin's strength - and patience - not to curse. She takes a deep breath, wipes some stray tears from Chopper's cheeks, and ushers him toward Nami. He latches onto Nami's hand immediately, knuckles white around her hand.

“You two go find Luffy and Usopp, please. Then, grab Dad and Grandpa Brook and meet us at the car.”

Nami nods and leads Chopper off without complaint. By the time Robin reaches Zoro and Sanji - by following screams and shouts - two security officers are pulling the boys apart.

“Wait,” she calls before the men can drag them off or put them in cuffs. “Wait, please. They're mine. They're my sons.”

The security officers pause and look back at her. Sanji shakes himself free of the man's grip. Zoro remains with the other guard, face a picture if relaxed defiance, eyed shining with uncertainty.

“Robin.” Sanji bounces over to her, a bruise already forming around his eye. “I didn’t start, I swear.”

Robin ignores him, gesturing for Zoro to come to her as well. He puts both hands in his pockets as he shuffles forward, blood weeping from his lip.

“Ma’am, we’re going to have to ask you and your sons to head home,” one of the officers says. 

“Yes, of course.” She takes Zoro’s arm to pull him toward her. “We'll be on our way. My deepest apologies.”

Zoro flinches under her touch as she drags him back toward the parking lot and Sanji scurries along after them. 

“What is wrong with you boys?” Robin digs in her bag for her cell phone as it buzzes with a text from Nami.  _ Got them. & Dad & Grandpa. Meet you at the car.  _

“It wasn’t my fault, Robin,” Sanji whines. “Zoro started it!”

“Fuck you, I started it,” Zoro snarls back.

“ _ Language _ .” Robin stops to face them. “I don’t care who started it. I expect  _ both _ you boys to be able to conduct yourselves properly in public. And to watch out for your brothers. You left Franky. You left Luffy and Usopp. Worst of all, you left  _ Chopper _ .” Both sets of eyes drop to the ground. “I should be able to count on you two to be responsible.”

Sanji peeks up at her like a kicked puppy. After three years with her, he should know those looks have long since stopped working. “He started it.”

“I don’t care who started it,” Robin repeats. Her voice barely a hiss. “It takes  _ two _ people to fist fight. You are  _ both _ in trouble. We'll discuss this at home. To the car.  _ Now. _ ”

Sanji pouts his way back to the car. Zoro scuffles along behind him, hands still in his pockets and heads bowed. The rest of the family wait for them at the van. Franky must know he's in trouble too because he simply greets them as they slip into the middle seat with Luffy. 

“Chopper.” Sanji turns back to look at the small boy, huddled between Nami and Usopp. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get distracted. I'll make you a big lunch when we get home, alright?”

“Okay,” Chopper mumbles. 

Luffy prodes Zoro’s arm. “Zoro should say sorry too.”

Robin isn't surprised when he doesn't. For Zoro, silence has always been a protector. Now that he knows he’s in trouble, Robin suspects they won't hear a peep from him. 

The ride hike is relatively quiet. The boys all hang their heads as they slip out of the van. Nami leads them out of the house, Chopper still clinging to her hand. 

“Do try to go easy on them, Robin-dear,” Brook says. “They didn't mean any harm.”

Robin glares at him and he rushes into the house after the kids. 

“Robin,” Franky says softly. “I know you're angry. But the boys-”

“No.” Robin lets out a long breath. “I'm not angry with the boys, Franky. I'm disappointed in the boys. I'm angry with  _ you _ . How could you leave them unsupervised? You know once Sanji and Zoro start fighting, nothing stops them. And Chopper. He's only a child.”

“I know. Robin, I know. I'm so sorry.”

“Don’t.” Robin holds up a hand to stop him. “I need to go talk to the boys. Zoro and Sanji will be sorting this out. Once I've handled that, you and I will talk.”

Franky nods, squeezes her hand, and makes his way to the garage. Robin gives herself a moment to breathe, to think over what to say to the boys, before she walks into the house. Usopp and Luffy have disappeared, probably to their room to play more video games. Nami sits at their breakfast bar, texting furiously in her phone while Sanji makes Chopper's apology lunch. And Chopper curls on the couch beside Zoro, watching Disney Channel. Zoro's own apology without words.

Robin doesn't miss that Chopper has both hands wrapped around Zoro's. Holding his newest big brother's hand tightly in his lap. A sure sign that Zoro's behavior is not lost on the young boy. 

Both Nami and Sanji turn to look at her as the door closes behind her. She locks eyes with Nami and nods to Chopper.

“Nami, Dad would love it if you and Chopper helped him in the garage. And, Zoro, would you go to your room, please? I'll be up to speak with you in a moment.”

Zoro stands without protest, though Chopper doesn’t release him.

“Mommy, I want Zoro to stay with me.”

“No, sweetheart. Zoro and Sanji are going to spend some time in their rooms.”

Zoro shakes himself loose from Chopper's grip, ruffles the boy's hair, and disappears up the stairs without a word. Chopper pouts after him.

“He keeps putting his hands near his teeth,” Chopper tells her. “I don’t like it. I want him to stay with me.”

“I know, sweet boy.” Robin sits on the couch and pulls Chopper against her side, planting a kiss on his head. “But, we need to trust Zoro not to do that. Okay?”

Which is why she’s going to talk to Sanji first. This is the first time since he’s arrived that Zoro’s had reason to be rattled. Robin wants - no needs. Robin needs to know that Zoro's starting to trust them. Needs to know that he's started to heal.

“You go with Nami to help Daddy, okay?”

“Come on, Chop.” Nami offers the boy her hand and he takes it, hesitantly.

Sanji keeps his eyes on the food as Robin makes her way into the kitchen and Nami leads Chopper to the garage. 

“I've never been so disappointed in you,” she says after a moment. 

“I said I was sorry,” Sanji mutters.

“Sit down,” Robin tells him. 

With a sigh, he takes the pot off the hot burner and does as she asks. 

“What happened?”

She wants to hear both sides of the story. She always does. And, she always thinks they're both in the wrong. 

“Chopper said he was hungry, so Zoro said he'd take him to get food. But I couldn't let then go alone. Zoro has the directional capability of a newborn. So, I went with them. And then Zoro ran his mouth. And, I might have lost my temper and punched him in the face. But he deserved it!”

“Violence isn’t the answer, Sanji,” Robin says firmly. “It never is.”

“I know. He just, he made me so mad.”

“That isn't an excuse. Just like it wasn’t an excuse for him when he punched you.”

“I know, I know.” Sanji pouts at her. “I just. Why’s he got to be such a dickhole?”

“Language.”

“Sorry.”

“What did he say?”

He looks away. Clearly embarrassed. Which means, Sanji clearly knows it wasn’t worth punching Zoro over.

“He called me a weakling.”

Robin barely refrains from rolling her eyes. Clearly, there's a deeper meaning to this. There has to be. With their constant fighting. Both these boys remind the other of something bad.

“And you found that worth punching him for. Why?”

Red colors Sanji's cheeks. “It wasn’t. I'm sorry.”

“Sanji.” Robin reaches across the table to take his hand. “I love you, very much. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. Your kindness, your love. No one holds quite as much as you seem to. Which means, for you to punch Zoro, there's a deeper meaning behind all of this.”

“He’s a brute. And he's rude. And he's grumpy.”

“Perhaps. But, he’s also your brother.”

“No, he’s not!” Sanji jerks away from her. “He’s not!”

Robin stares as Sanji moves away from the table. Watches him hunker back, tears shining in his eyes.

“Sanji.” Robin stands slowly. Reaches a hand out for him.

“He’s not.”

“Sweetheart.”

Sanji moves into her arms. Lets her hug him close and brush his hair back. The boys’ relationship had been strange since it first began. Sanji had help Luffy bring Zoro to her. Helped pull the filthy, half frozen, half-starved boy onto the couch and cover him in blankets. But, as soon as they'd gotten Zoro cleaned up and brought him home, the tempers had flared. Sanji had been surprisingly hostile and Zoro had responded with hostility of his own. 

“Talk to me, Sanji.” Robin rubs his arm. “Tell me what's going on, sweetheart.”

“He's just like Yonji.” A sniffle accompanies the words. “He looks like him. And he doesn’t like me like him. I don't wanna live with Yonji again.”

Robin hugs him closer. “Oh, Sanji, honey.” She pulls back to look at his tear-stained face. “I would  _ never _ let anyone hurt you.” She wiped some of the tears away. “Is this why you're so upset with Zoro all the time?”

“I know it's stupid,” he whispers. “But, but my dad stopped caring about me when Yonji came along. And I, I don’t want you and Franky to stop caring about me too.”

“We couldn't do that, Sanji. We love you. Your brothers love you. Nami loves you. And nothing you or anyone else does could ever make us stop loving you. I promise.”

“What if you do?”

“Honey, I have loved you for three years. And I will love you for the rest of your life.”

Sanji's jaw trembles. “I'm sorry. I am. I don’t want to be mean to him. It just. I just happens.”

Robin rubs his arm. “I think maybe you should think about going to see Zoro's therapist. She’s helped him a lot.”

“I'm not crazy.”

“Of course you aren't, sweetheart. You're having a hard time. And sometimes it helps to talk to someone else. Someone you don't feel has a bias opinion.”

“Do I have to?”

“No. Not if you don't want to.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Of course.”

Sanji nods. “I'm really sorry about today. I'll make it up to you.”

“I know you will.” She brushes his bangs back to see both of his eyes. Red rimmed and watery. “But you're still grounded from the kitchen for the rest of today and tomorrow. No internet. And no TV.”

Sanji nods. “Yeah. Okay.”

Robin kisses his cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Chopper's treat is all ready. And I started the noodles to make a casserole for dinner.”

“Alright. You're excused.”

Sanji smiled at her and makes his way up to his shared room with Usopp. As she walks by, Robin hears the telltale sign of video games being played. After her talk with Zoro, she’ll have to break that up.

Usopp and Luffy disappeared.  _ And _ stole Brook's wallet to use for arcade money.

She knocks on Zoro's door and waits a moment before she opens. Luffy's side of the room is a disaster, as always. Clothes strew all over. Several pairs of shoes littering his floor. Posters tacked up around the wall. A pirate flag hanging over his bed. A direct contrast to Zoro's side of the room. Nothing all the walls. Floor spotless. Nothing on his nightstand or dresser. Blankets tucked in perfectly. 

And on the bed, sits Zoro. Curled at the headboard, watching the door with his teeth pressed firmly around his hand. Blood drips slowly down his wrist and arm. He looks so young. Sometimes she forgets just how young he can be. When he stands next to Chopper, quiet and undemanding. Ushers his little brother where he needs to go. Puts Luffy or Usopp in their place. When Zoro doesn't feel intimidated or afraid, he's mature. Seems like he can handle anything. Now, he's breaking Robin's heart, piece by piece. 

Robin bites back a sigh and crosses the room. “Zoro,” she says softly, taking his hand to coax it out of his mouth. “Let me see.”

He releases his hand far easier than he used to. Her newest addition is by no means healed. But he’s making his way in the right direction. His own blood stains his teeth and he averts his eyes as she looks down at the two rows of bloody cuts. 

“Luffy,” Robin calls. Zoro winces. Robin knows he hates it when the others see him like this. But, Luffy seems to be the one he’s most comfortable with. And Luffy always seems to know. Each and every time she calls to him, he seems to bring exactly what Zoro needs. Be it a first aid kit or a water bottle.

The door opens a second later and Luffy pops his head in, first aid kit in hand. Robin gives him a soft smile as he opens it for her, already rifling through it to find supplies. Zoro doesn't look at either of them as they bandage his bloody hand and Luffy doesn’t push the matter. Only gives Zoro a hug once Robin's finished and bounds out the door.

Robin can’t find it in her to speak for a moment. Just started at the young man in front of her. Hunched down. Defeated and silent. Every ounce if her wants not to have to lecture him or punish him. She wants to pull him into her arms and hold him until he stops doing this to himself. But that won't do him any good. Zoro needs structure. And needs to understand what punishment means under her roof.

“You boys really disappointed me today,” she tells him. “I know you don't always get along. But throwing punches is absolutely unacceptable. And, you left Chopper on his own. I count on you boys to take care of him when I'm not around.”

Zoro remains silent. Still staring at the bed.

“What happened?” Robin asks. 

Sanji painted a clear enough picture. And a believable one. But, she needs him to talk. Needs him to feel like he’s being heard.

Zoro shrugs. 

“You two tried to beat each other up in the middle of the outlet malls. I'm sure you do know what happened, Zoro.”

“Nothing,” Zoro murmurs. “It was my fault.” Finally, he looks up at her. Fear and acceptance battle for control in his eyes. “Nine days, right?”

The words make Robin's skin crawl. After not hearing them for months, they suddenly seem so much worse. 

“Zoro,” she says softly. “Remember what Franky and I told you. In this house, we eat every day.”

Zoro’s jaw trembles. She can see tears start to form and she grabs his hand before he can bite down on it again.

“Hey, no. Don’t do that. Talk to me, Zoro. I always want you to talk to me.”

He stares at her for a minute, battling tears and swallows hard. “I wanna do that instead,” he tells her. “I can do nine days. I can. I just, I don’t wanna do the belt.”

Robin pulls in a deep breath and strokes his cheek, ignoring the soft flinch. “There is no belt in this house,” she says. “We eat every day and we will  _ never _ hit you.”

Zoro trembles. “I'm sorry. I know. I know was bad. I can do nine days. I can.”

“Why were you and Sanji fighting?” If she ignores his insistence on nine days without eating, maybe it'll fade away.

Her grip on his hand tightens when he tries to raise it to his teeth again.

“I'm, I'm not stupid,” he tells her.

Robin blinks. “Of course you're not stupid.”

Zoro frowns. “They think I am.”

“Who?”

“Morgan. Helmeppo. And-and Sanji too. But I'm not. I'm not stupid.” Tears shine in his eyes again. “I'm not stupid. And I wouldn’t let Chopper get lost.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Robin says. Strokes his cheek. 

“I can go places by myself,” he continues. “I'm not stupid. I'm not.”

The picture Sanji painted for her widens. Sanji made Zoro feels stupid. So, in return, Zoro tried to make Sanji feel useless. It doesn't surprise her. Both boys have spent so much of their lives with siblings and parents that taught them to look down on themselves, the only way they can avoid that is to drag others down with them.

“Zoro.” Robin brushes some of his tears away. “I'm going to give you a hug. Is that alright?”

He sniffles but nods. She pulls him close. Feels him tense. Still not used to such gentle affection.

“You aren't stupid,” she whispers. “I know that. And so does Sanji.”

“He doesn’t like me,” Zoro whispers. “I don't even know what I did wrong.” His tears hit her shoulder. Nose buries into her collarbone. “Is it because I'm stupid? Would he like me if I was smart?”

“You aren't stupid,” Robin whispers, rubbing his shoulder. 

She takes Zoro's hands, holding them steady, as Chopper had. Anything to keep him from giving himself more scars. Enough of those cover his hands. 

“I'm sorry,” he whispers. “I shouldn't have left Chopper. And I-I shouldn't have been mean to Sanji.”

Robin squeezes him and pulls back to brush some tears from his cheeks. “You shouldn't have called Sanji useless,” she agrees. “But he shouldn't have hit you. And Franky shouldn't have left you boys alone. So, all three of you are going to split the blame in this, alright?”

Zoro sniffles and nods, wiping his face.

“So, no TV, no internet, no video games for the rest of today and tomorrow, alright?” Robin wipes a missed tear. “That is your punishment. Dinner will be ready in an hour and I expect you down there, eating with everyone else. Alright?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“And after dinner, you, Sanji and I are going to sit down and talk.”

Zoro’s teeth drop to his bottom lip but he nods. Robin cards a hand through his hair with a soft smile. 

“You don’t have to be nervous, Zoro. It's just time for you two to sort things out.”

He nods but the nerves don’t seem to lessen.

“It's going to be alright, Zoro,” she promises.

  
  


Dinner goes by quietly. Chopper insists on sitting beside Zoro, gripping his bandaged hand tightly. Zoro puts up no protest to the action. Keeps his eyes on the table and eats haltingly. Across the table, Sanji refuses to look in Zoro’s direction and picks at his food.

“Mommy, I want Zoro to watch TV with me,” Chopper whines, tugging on Zoro’s hand.

He winces slightly. “Chopper, that hurts."

Chopper quickly readjusts his grip. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.”

“I know.” Zoro ruffles his hair.

“Chopper,” Robin says. Both the boys look at her. “Zoro and I need to talk for a few minutes. Then he can come watch a movie with you, alright?”

“Promise?”

Robin nods and, after a short minute, Chopper releases Zoro’s hand and retreats to the couch. Zoro rocks on his toes as the young boy disappears.

“Am I in trouble?” he asks. Voice a small whisper.

“No, honey, of course not. Let’s step into my office, alright?”

Zoro follows her at a snail’s pace, shuffling his feet and watching the ground. Sanji waits for them in her office, his gaze snapping to them as the door opens. 

The air thickens in the room as Robin ushers Zoro into a chair and sits between him and Sanji. Neither of the boys will look at the other. Though, Sanji's eyes linger on Zoro’s bandaged hand for a minute longer than usual. 

“We're going to talk, boys,” Robin tells them. “No more fist fights. No more name calling. You're both adults. So you're going to handle this like adults. By talking.”

Her hand snatched Zoro's before it can reach his teeth. Sanji averts his eyes.

“I already said I was sorry,” Sanji says.

“Yes. But to me, not Zoro. And Zoro didn't apologize to you.”

Sanji rolls his eyes. “This is stupid.”

Robin levels him with a glare. “You told me you wanted to get along. I want you to get along. This is ridiculous.”

“If he wasn’t such a dumbass, we wouldn't have this problem.”

“Fuck off,” Zoro snarls back.

“Boys,” Robin growls.

“Good come back,” Sanji drawls. “You really got me good.” 

Robin feels every muscle in Zoro’s body tense. “Boys! That. Is. Enough!”

Zoro hunkers down. Sanji averts his eyes. Robin glares at both of them. She stands and crosses to the window. 

“If I have to lock you two in this room together for the rest of the night to make you sort this out, I will,” she threatens. “I mean it. You two are affecting more than just yourselves.”

“Tch.” Sanji glares at the floor.

Zoro remains silent. Then, he casts Sanji a sidelong glance. “I'm sorry,” he offers after a moment. 

“You're sorry because Robin told you to be,” Sanji snaps. "Don't throw words around if you don't mean them."

“God, you're an ass,” Zoro mutters.

“I wouldn't be an ass if you weren't so fucking stupid.”

Robin closes her eyes and prepares to call Franky. One of two things will happen. Zoro will either punch Sanji. And if he does, she'll most definitely need some help handling a second fist fight. Or, Zoro's going to have a fresh set of teeth marks on his hand. 

“Hey, don't do that.” Sanji's startled cry tells her which one Zoro's chosen to do. 

She opens her eyes with a sigh and crosses the room. Sanji's at Zoro’s side before she can reach him. Gentle hand coaxing Zoro's hand free before he can draw too much blood. Robin pauses and sinks into his abandoned chair. Let's Sanji take a moment to gather his thoughts. 

Zoro tears his hand from Sanji's grip, ears red as he stares at the ground. 

“I'm sorry,” Sanji whispers.

Because he knows now. Knows exactly what words he used. Knows exactly how he made Zoro feel. 

“Shit, Zoro, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean. I just. I'm sorry.”

“‘S fine,” Zoro mumbles. His eyes rise to meet Robin's. “Are we done now?”

“No.” It's Sanji who speaks. “No, I-I wanna talk.”

Relief floods through Robin. She lets out a deep breath. Sits patiently while Sanji sits and talks to Zoro. Explains everything. His fear of who Zoro looks like. What Zoro represents. His biological family. Everything they'd done and said.

Zoro doesn't offer much more than apologies in return. Though, Robin isn’t surprised. Most of her knowledge of Zoro's background has come from his social worker and the trial against his last foster father.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel stupid with Chopper,” Sanji says. “I just, I didn't want you guys to get into trouble without me there to help.”

Zoro shrugs. “‘S fine.”

Sanji rocks on his toes, clearly not fine with the way the discussion ends. Robin bites back a sigh. She by no means expected tearful declarations of brotherhood. But for Zoro to open up a smidge would have been nice.

“I’m sorry I called you weak,” Zoro adds after a minute. “Habit, I guess. Helmeppo used to hate it when I called him that. 'S kind of the only thing I had to make him shut up.”

“He was Morgan's son, right?” Sanji asks.

Zoro nods, wringing his hands together. “He didn't like when I was loud.” 

Sanji’s eyes shoot to Robin. A deer in the headlights. She gives him a soft, encouraging nod. If Zoro feels safe enough to open up to Sanji, then listening is important now. Sanji's gaze moves back to Zoro. Teeth tracing over his bottom lip.

“Ichiji yelled at me when I was loud too,” Sanji offers after a minute. “They locked me in an iron mask to shut me up.”

The same mask Sanji had been wearing when Child Services ripped him out of the house at ten.

“Morgan sewed my mouth shut one time,” Zoro says. His gaze moves up to Sanji then down to his hands again. “Learned to shut myself up after that.”

That is new information. It puts a new light on Zoro’s actions and reactions. Robin files it away. A new tidbit of information for both his therapist and social worker.

“You don’t have to here, you know?” Sanji offers. “I used to wake up screaming all the time. No one ever got mad at me.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean it,” Sanji insists gently. “Robin and Franky are the best.”

Zoro’s lips tug in the ghost of a smile. “Yeah.”

“I'm gonna try to be less of a dick,” Sanji says. “I promise.”

“Me too,” Zoro mumbles.

Sanji squeezes his shoulder. “And I promise not to punch you anymore.”

“Tch.” Zoro’s smirk becomes a bit more pronounced. “Didn’t hurt anyway.”

“Sure it didn't.” Sanji turns to Robin. “I'm sorry I was such a jerk, Robin.”

“I know.” Robin smiles at him. Rubs his shoulder. Pride swells in her chest. Both of them have come so far, just in a single moment. “I'm proud of you boys.” Her gaze moves to Zoro. “You're free to go. But remember, no internet and no TV tomorrow. You can watch with Chopper though.”

Not allowing Zoro to spend time would be a punishment to her youngest boy. Chopper shouldn't be punished, he's done nothing wrong. And Robin barely wants to punish Sanji and Zoro. Anyway to lighten the punishment, she's willing to take.

Chopper scrambles over to take Zoro's hand as soon as he emerges, a dark frown on the young boy's face. “Zoro, you're bleeding again! Sanji, were you mean?”

Sanji opens his mouth to argue but Zoro beats him to the punch. 

“He wasn't mean, buddy,” Zoro says softly, ruffling Chopper's hair. “I just got nervous.”

Chopper’s frown deepens. “Promise?”

“Hai.”

Chopper blinks. “Why are you saying hi? I've been here.”

Zoro chuckles. “Not hi, Chopper. Hai. It means yes.”

“It does?”

“Hai.”

Chopper frowns at him. “Are you sure?”

Zoro nods. “It's Japanese.”

“You know Japanese?’

“Mmm hmm. My father taught me.”

Robin tucks that information away as well. Zoro’s never spoken about his biological family before. Robin only knows what she’s read in his file. His sister had died in a freak accident. His father, overcome by grief and shame, had committed suicide. Leaving a young Zoro to find his body after getting off the school bus. After that, it had been foster home after foster home until his last foster father had abandoned him while on a shopping trip. Leaving him in the November snow and cold for Luffy and Sanji to find on their way to the store.

“Was it hard to learn?’ Chopper asks, eyes wide with curiosity.

Zoro shakes his head. “Not that I remember. I can teach you, if you want?”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Beaming, Chopper pulls him away to the couch. His little mouth running a mile a minute as he chatters about all the things he wants to learn from Zoro. Robin kisses Sanji's cheek and gives him a soft push after them. Luffy, Usopp, and Brook are already crowded around to watch the Disney Channel movie Chopper has on.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to watch TV," he says.

"You can watch it with Chopper." She winks. "He's not in trouble. I can't punish him now can I?"

Sanji gives her a shy smile but moves to sit beside Zoro on the couch. Chopper leans over to give the blonde as well.

Robin smiles after them. Her boys are finally feeling better. Maybe not perfect. Part of Robin worries that they'll never have quite normal lives. But, as long as she can see them healthy, happy, and safe, she can breathe. Heavy footfall comes down the stairs as Franky emerges, first aid kit in his hands.

“Thank you.” Robin holds out her hand for it.

He shakes his head. “I dropped the ball today,” he tells her, lips pulled down in shame. “I should have been a better dad. If I want them to heal, I need to be a better dad.”

Relief floods through her. Knowing he came to the realization by himself would make tonight much easier.

“I'm gonna get Zoro cleaned up. Then we'll talk.”

Robin smiles. Kisses his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Nami slides a cup of hot chocolate over to her as she makes her way back to the kitchen.

“Boys are stupid,” her daughter says.

Robin laughs. “Yes, they are.” Her eyes move to the living room. Chopper sits on Zoro’s lap, Luffy on one side and Sanji on the other while Franky sits in front of them, bandaging Zoro’s hand. “But we couldn't live without them, now could we?”


End file.
